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Pope Francis: homily at Year of Faith closing Mass

24/11/2013

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(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis delivered the homily at Mass on Sunday to mark the Solemnity
of Christ the King and close the Year of Faith proclaimed by his predecessor, emeritus
Pope Benedict XVI. Below, please find the official English translation of Pope Francis'
prepared remarks.

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Today’s
solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, the crowning of the liturgical
year, also marks the conclusion of the Year of Faith opened by Pope Benedict XVI,
to whom our thoughts now turn with affection and gratitude. By this providential
initiative, he gave us an opportunity to rediscover the beauty of the journey of faith
begun on the day of our Baptism, which made us children of God and brothers and sisters
in the Church. A journey which has as its ultimate end our full encounter with God,
and throughout which the Holy Spirit purifies us, lifts us up and sanctifies us, so
that we may enter into the happiness for which our hearts long. I offer a cordial
greeting to the Patriarchs and Major Archbishops of the Eastern Catholic Churches
present. The exchange of peace which I will share with them is above all a sign of
the appreciation of the Bishop of Rome for these communities which have confessed
the name of Christ with exemplary faithfulness, often at a high price. With this
gesture, through them, I would like to reach all those Christians living in the Holy
Land, in Syria and in the entire East, and obtain for them the gift of peace and concord.
The Scripture readings proclaimed to us have as their common theme the centrality
of Christ. Christ as the centre of creation, the centre of his people and the centre
of history. 1. The apostle Paul, in the second reading, taken from the letter
to the Colossians, offers us a profound vision of the centrality of Jesus. He presents
Christ to us as the first-born of all creation: in him, through him and for him all
things were created. He is the centre of all things, he is the beginning. God has
given him the fullness, the totality, so that in him all things might be reconciled
(cf. Col 1:12-20). This image enables to see that Jesus is the centre of creation;
and so the attitude demanded of us as true believers is that of recognizing and accepting
in our lives the centrality of Jesus Christ, in our thoughts, in our words and in
our works. When this centre is lost, when it is replaced by something else, only
harm can result for everything around us and for ourselves. 2. Besides being the
centre of creation, Christ is the centre of the people of God. We see this in the
first reading which describes the time when the tribes of Israel came to look for
David and anointed him king of Israel before the Lord (cf. 2 Sam 5:1-3). In searching
for an ideal king, the people were seeking God himself: a God who would be close to
them, who would accompany them on their journey, who would be a brother to them. Christ,
the descendant of King David, is the “brother” around whom God’s people come together.
It is he who cares for his people, for all of us, even at the price of his life.
In him we are all one; united with him, we share a single journey, a single destiny.
3. Finally, Christ is the centre of the history of the human race and of every
man and woman. To him we can bring the joys and the hopes, the sorrows and troubles
which are part of our lives. When Jesus is the centre, light shines even amid the
darkest times of our lives; he gives us hope, as he does to the good thief in today’s
Gospel. While all the others treat Jesus with disdain – “If you are the Christ,
the Messiah King, save yourself by coming down from the cross!” – the thief who went
astray in his life but now repents, clinging to the crucified Jesus, begs him: “Remember
me, when you come into your kingdom” (Lk 23:42). And Jesus promises him: “Today you
will be with me in paradise” (v. 43). Jesus speaks only a word of forgiveness, not
of condemnation; whenever anyone finds the courage to ask for this forgiveness, the
Lord does not let such a petition go unheard. Jesus’ promise to the good thief
gives us great hope: it tells us that God’s grace is always greater than the prayer
which sought it. The Lord always grants more than what he has been asked: you ask
him to remember you, and he brings you into his Kingdom!Let us ask the Lord to
remember us, in the certainty that by his mercy we will be able to share his glory
in paradise. Amen!